German carmaker BMW said its profits slipped 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2005 to 812 million euros (1.04 billion dollars), reflecting the weak dollar and the costs of introducing new models to the market, reported dpa today. The company said sales volume, at 10.4 billion euros, was down 4 per cent from the first quarter of 2004. This came despite an 8 per cent increase in car sales, to 292,000, in the first quarter. Amid the slow first-quarter start, company chief executive Helmut Panke said he expected 2005 profits to reach the level of those last year, when the company posted a record profit of over 2.2 billion euros. BMW earnings were being affected by the low dollar, higher steel prices and the cost of introducing new models, he said.
